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Monday, August 17, 2015

Cricut just recently released a new cartridge exclusive to Cricut Circle members called Crazy Cool Cards and the content is true to the name. There are 30 cards on this cartridge and I do believe I will eventually make every one of them, the cartridge is that cool!You can never go wrong with a Train Card so I decided to make Train Cascade Card my first one from this cartridge.

I selected the card in Design Space and it brought in all the images in one grouping. The suggested size given in the handbook is 7.5". Because I wanted to leave the grouping in tact to size all pieces together, I had to guess at the size for the entire grouping. I used the envelope to approximate the 7.5" by dragging the handle until the score lines of the envelope were about 7.5" in width.

I cut and scored all the pieces using my Explore with the Scoring tool.

The Train body is in two pieces that are folded in opposing 'Z' folds.

The Cascade is formed by inserting the left and right sides together in the 3 slits, front, center and rear.

Adhere the blue piece (without the slit) to the back side of the cascade.

Adhere the black pieces to the blue piece (with slit) as shown.

Glue into place by inserting the slit into the backmost cascade

Glue the black accent pieces to the front doors. Adhere that to the front cascade.

Adhere the train tender and engine front to the front grey smoke piece.

Glue the white to the back grey smoke piece. You can use this piece to write your sentiment. The recipient can then just pull up on the smokestack to read it.

To add the smoke pieces to the cascade, I found it easier to insert the piece into the bottom of the train. You can glue these into place but they stay well without glue. The plain grey piece goes into the front cascade, the white piece goes into the back.

The envelope is in two pieces, the flap and the body. Add glue to the flap up to the fold line. Line up the fold line with the top of the body and glue into place.

The card fits perfectly into the envelope

I plan to give this card to my train loving Grandson so I create a Birthday tag using the CTMH Framed stamp set.

I centered the frame around the sentiment and stamped using the Black Soot ink.

I cut the image out leaving a 1/8" white border.

I used Stickles and Black Enamel to accent the black frame and tender. Liquid Glass was put in the windows to add shine. I inked the edges of the smoke pieces with Black Soot and then smudged the image with Black Soot and Hampton White to simulate rolling smoke.

I really enjoyed making this card and look forward to making others from this cartridge. I'd love to hear what you think, please leave a comment below and let me know what you are working on.Happy Crafting!

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Today's craft is a Floral box card I created as a thank you card for my neighbor who always keeps an eye on my home whenever I go away overnight. She is a gem and I wanted something special for her.

This one is from the Box Cards SVG Kit from svgcuts.com. Mary, from Svgcuts, has a wonderful assembly video that includes all the files from this kit. If you decide to make this card, I encourage you to view her video which can be found on Youtube here.

I imported all the svgs for the Floral Boxcard into Design Space. Everything imported in the correct size with no need to resize anything. But, it is always a good idea to double check the file sizes against the sizes listed in the PDF file included with all SVGCuts files just to be safe.

If you would like a score line rather than a perforated cut line, you will need to change the cut line to score for the files named 'green', and 'envelope'. Change the cut lines to score lines and attach.

I start by laying out the pieces and inking all the edges in Outdoor Denim.

Using the 'Framed' stampset, stamp the word 'Thanks' onto a scrap of white cardstock using Outdoor Denim. Stamp the frame using Pacifica centering it over the word. The clear stamping blocks make the placement very easy.

I cut out the image leaving a small white border, then inked the edges in Pacifica.

Adhere the panels and sentiment to the base while the base is still flat for ease.

Adhere the flowers to the inserts. I used a few extra flowers from a Martha Stewart flower punch in addition to those included in the file but you can also cut extra from the file if you want more and don't have a punch.

Place glue on the cardbase tab and glue to the inside of the box. Then adhere the inside back panel to cover the tab.

Place the flat insert at the front of the box lining up the insert to the top edge of the box and adhere.

Fold the first insert on the score lines and apply glue. I used a 'Z' fold to help reduce bulk when the card is folded flat.

Place the insert inside the card with one side of the 'Z' against the front of the box. Line up the other side and glue into place.

While the glue is still wet, fold the card making sure you can fold the card flat. Adjust if needed.

Add the second insert lining up one side of the 'Z' against the back of the box. Add bling as desired.

I hope you will try a box card from SVGCuts. They have a great assortment of files to choose from and they work very well with Design Space as well as Ecal and MTC software.